Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Catching Up With Former Met – Craig Swan

Former Met pitcher, Craig Swan, has been quite the creative one since retiring from baseball in 1984.

Swan, who spent his entire 12-year professional career with the Mets, now resides in Greenwich, CT.

When Swan adopted a mix breed dog, named Daisy, he realized how much activity and exercise the dog craved. Daisy, a pit bull/hound mix, was so active, that Swan, 59, was having a difficult time keeping up with the young dog. Swan has a problem with his leg that prevents him from walking more than one mile.

Swan and his wife cruised the web and found a specialized non-motorized scooter that can be propelled by a dog. Says Swan, "I got my scooter, put the attachment on and now Daisy and I go out for at least three miles a day."

Swan, who has been attracting quite a bit of attention said, "My dog is pretty fast. I would guess I'm doing 20 mph in a full run," Some residents of Old Greenwich are starting to look into getting these dog scooters.

"It's a marvelous thing. It's a good outlet and exercise for the dog," said Bill Peterson, who adopted Daisy to the Swans.

Swan is looking to start a group of owners, dogs, and scooters – to exercise the dogs together. He will also look to visit shelters with these scooters to assist dogs, that might be restricted to cages for most of the day, in exercise.